An Illustrated Manual of Sniper Skills

Mark Spicer

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781473884526
• eBook ISBN: 9781473884540
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

This heavily illustrated manual offers an in-depth look at the art of sniping in war and anti-terrorist environments.
Drawing on a vast, firsthand knowledge of sniper skills, former British Army sniper and sniper instructor Mark Spicer describes the role of the sniper in peace and in war, in reconnaissance and counter-surveillance, in cities, in vehicles, at night and by day.
He presents crucial information about training and equipment, judgment and positioning, details of great relevance to professional marksmen, both military and law enforcement. This comprehensive manual will also be of interest to hunters, weapons enthusiasts, competition shooters, and paintball participants. The authoritative text is complimented by 280 full color illustrations, diagrams, and related information.

CHAPTER 1

TRAINING THE SNIPER

There is a widespread misconception as to exactly what constitutes sniping. Many people seem to believe it is the ability to shoot accurately over very long distances. But this is simply not the case; the ability to shoot accurately over long ranges is by no means the sole prerogative of the sniper. Indeed, any number of civilian hunting and shooting clubs have as members people with an admirable ability to hit targets up to and past the one thousand yards mark, but they are by no means trained snipers. Sniping is a tactical skill, which is not related to range or distance. The ability to utilize that tactic over long ranges is a useful by-product of being able to shoot well, but is by no means a prerequisite of employing sniping tactics.

Sniping is the employment of individual shooters from concealed positions with no warning, from any distance, depending on the range of the weapon This is not to say, of course, that to maximize the chances of the sniper surviving to fight again, the longer the distance between him and the victim the better. Conversely, if the sniper is able to conceal himself and engage successfully at close range, then that is also sniping. The corollary is, of course, that someone under sniper fire should not fall into the trap of looking into the distance every time a shot is heard; the shooter may be right under his nose, just relying on his intended victim’s preconceived idea that he will be further away.

The sniper has selected a position that provides him with a screening bush in front of him and the bank behind to provide a backdrop in which to disappear. This, combined with shadow, would make him difficult to locate by an enemy under attack from him.

Sniping is a combination of several skills of which shooting is certainly among the most important, although it is in many ways the easiest to teach and learn, and for this reason it is usually the first phase of most sniper courses. If trainees cannot shoot with consistency, there is no point in wasting time and resources trying to get them through other skills.

This sniper has done well to conceal himself, but has allowed the “Butler creek” type lens cover to protrude from his camouflage, where its black circular shape will give him away.

The precise definition of a sniper and sniping will vary, but the British Army definition forms a useful and generally accepted starting point:

“The sniper is a selected soldier who is a trained marksman and observer, who can locate and report on an enemy, however well concealed, who can stalk or lie in wait unseen, and kill with one shot.”

Sniper selection and training

Successful sniper units are usually a product of the correct selection process and continuation training. The individuals in these units are usually quiet professionals who go about their business with little or no supervision, and who are happy with their own company and yet are still capable of being a part of a professional and supportive team. They are consistent shots, are above average in all basic skills, including fitness, and display a maturity and tendency for humor. The qualities that should be looked for when recruiting for or creating a sniper unit may well vary from one army or unit to the next, and will be influenced by a country’s religion, attitudes towards soldiering, past experiences of sniping, size of the available pool of talent, and mental attributes of the nation’s men and women. In general, however, most armies would look for the following attributes in potential candidates.

• Military skills: above average.

• Marksmanship: outstanding or with the potential to achieve it.

• Intelligence: vital for the sniper, who will have to able to read a tactical situation and assess the consequences of his actions.

• Maturity and mental fitness: of importance to the sniper, who must be aware of his responsibilities and be prepared to accept them.

• Physical fitness: essential for a sniper, but bearing in mind that he is not so much a sprinter as a long-distance runner who must be able to work for protracted periods.

• Sense of humor: essential for snipers, whose lives are often harsh and unforgiving.

• Non-smoker: this may seem out of place, but the chances of a sniper being in a safe enough area to light a cigarette during operations are always slim, and someone who is yearning to smoke will not be fully alert.

Following from these attributes, the potential sniper needs seven primary skills that must be developed and mastered in order to become a qualified sniper:

• Shooting

• Observation

• Judging distance

• Navigation

• Sniper-related knowledge

• Camouflage and concealment

• Stalking

A British sniper instructor oversees joint training with French Foreign Legion and Belgian Para Commandos in Kosovo. Cross training with other units is essential in today’s multinational task force deployments.

While out of sight of his enemy, this sniper has made the fatal mistake of allowing himself to become the focus of entertainment for a cow. Its size and curiosity will draw attention to this area, and hence to the sniper.

The standards are and must remain harsh, in the same manner as those for Special Forces, since the life and stress of being an operational sniper is such that to lower standards in order to satisfy a pass quota is to risk lives unnecessarily. The standards and teaching methods employed on basic sniper courses should remain very similar to those that were taught at the first sniper schools in World War I—teaching and training should be for the worst-case scenario, and there is nothing worse than what those men had to face! This training ethos is essential because, while the sniper’s equipment has changed considerably over the years, the role of the sniper has not.

Shooting. When selecting personnel to attend a basic sniper course an aptitude for shooting must be present; ideally, potential trainees have already achieved marksman status. Military students will have been trained in the recognized shooting positions and have achieved a level of experience using the standard issue infantry rifles. However, the law-enforcement candidate may never have used a long gun, and so this part of training will naturally take up more time on a police course than it will on a military one. The candidates will then follow a structured program of instruction that will cover weapon-handling, shooting techniques, shooting positions, and ballistics, culminating in a sniper qualification shoot.

Marksmanship principles

• The position and hold must be firm enough to support the weapon.

• The weapon must point naturally at the target without any undue effort.

• The sight alignment must be correct.

• The shot must be released and followed through without disturbance to the position.

A British sniper in observing training using the very reliable Leica Vector laser rangefinder binoculars. To his right is the Leopold x40 spotting scope issued to British and several other army snipers.

Observation. The sniper must have the ability to locate an enemy, no matter how well concealed, and so must have a natural curiosity to investigate and question. Most people live in an urban environment, and they seldom look at objects that are greater than a few hundred yards away. The sniper, especially the law-enforcement officer who lives and works mainly in this environment, must train at distance and in detail. Observation is about locating the enemy, and gathering information or intelligence. This has to include the penetration of camouflage, natural and false.

The sniper will depend on his eyesight to gather intelligence after locating the enemy, and also to ensure his own safety, and so must not only have a keen sense of sight but must also be proficient in the use of any optical aids that may be available to him. He must therefore be trained in the correct use and maintenance of such items as binoculars, telescopes, and night-vision equipment.

A British sniper moves cautiously forward towards an overwatch OP position in Northern Ireland. In that trouble-torn province snipers often used their ability to move unseen to occupy positions from which to observe and report on terrorist activity.

Before a sniper can be effective in the use of optical aids, he must first master the proper use of his eyes, which is achieved through a combination of physical effort and mental attitude. The physical side of the training takes the form of observing over long distances under operational-type conditions and is a progressive series of exercises, but this training is preceded by mental alertness education, since people can often see something only when they are aware that it is out of the ordinary.

Methods of observation

Hasty search. The hasty search is a swift check of an area for any signs of enemy activity, which should take no longer than approximately thirty seconds. First, the sniper will carry out a check of all the prominent areas within his arc of responsibility, ensuring he works right to left or left to right in a systematic pattern to achieve total coverage and avoid missing any point. While the search is systematic it is not sweeping, being a rapid check of specific points. The reason for this is that when the eye is focused onto one specific point, its peripheral vision will detect movement over a wide area around that specific point, thus alerting the sniper to any activity that might represent a potential threat to his life.

A sniper pair move forward through wooded terrain to occupy a shooting position against their intended target. The weather never stops operations, and so snipers must be able to operate under all conditions.

Detailed search. The sniper now carries out a thorough search of the area, again using a systematic breakdown of the arc of responsibility, with each area being checked in detail before moving on to the next. The sniper will start at either the far right or far left of his arc and move across to the opposite side, breaking the ground down into left, center, and right, and search each to a depth of approximately fifty yards. The search will begin wit...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Training the Sniper
• Chapter 2: Sniper Shot Placement
• Chapter 3: The Sniper in Urban Areas
• Chapter 4: The Sniper in Mountain Areas
• Chapter 5: The Sniper in Desert Areas
• Chapter 6: Counter-sniping
• Chapter 7: Sniper Weapons